


To Wish Upon A Falling Star

by Autumn_Elizabeth



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mystery, Romance, Science Bros, Self-Harm, Slash, Supernatural - Freeform, Suspense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-08
Updated: 2013-10-08
Packaged: 2017-11-15 21:23:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/531865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Autumn_Elizabeth/pseuds/Autumn_Elizabeth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the wake of SHIELD losing an ancient and mystical artifact, the two scientists work to locate it against the clock. But that isn't the only thing in their way. Ancient demons resurface, nightmares from their past. Everything draws them closer, but will one reach his breaking point? SLASH Bruce/Tony.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yay! Science bros! Honestly, I have so many feels, it's ridiculous. So here's a story, hope you enjoy. I'm not gonna waste your time with ridiculous notes, I mean, who reads them anyways? (I do... But I might just be weird.)

"JARVIS, don't let him in," Tony Stark shouted from the workbench at which he sat tinkering with the Mach VIII.

"Sir, Director Fury is insisting he speak with you and the rest of the Avengers. It is a matter of urgency."

Tony sighed, "Thor went back to visit Asgard, Steve is off boxing or  _something,_ Romanoff and Barton are always with S.H.I.E.L.D anyways, and Bruce and I are busy. So can't he find the others first?"

Bruce Banner, who was studying a tablet at the other end of the room, looked up. "Did you need something, Tony?"

"What he needs, doctor, is a lesson in hospitality."

"Hospitality? I don't think it was offered at MIT when I was there." The sarcastic remark elicited a low chuckle from Banner and a grumble from Fury.

"Save the sarcasm for once Stark. I've called the rest of the Avengers here as well. They should be arriving shortly."

Tony sighed. After he'd rebuilt and rechristened Stark Tower as the Avengers Tower, all of the Avengers had begun to call it home. However, with the exception of Bruce, they'd all taken off for the weekend to do whatever they fancied in their free time. Well, Natasha and Clint were on a mission, but regardless, they weren't there. Even Pepper had gone off to Asia for a conference - probably to escape Tony's reaction to the announcement of her relationship with Steve Rogers, aka Captain America. Come to think of it, that was probably why everyone else left as well. The genius liked to convince himself he didn't care, they'd been over since a few months after the Manhattan disaster. After all, he was allergic to emotions.

"Sir," JARVIS broke through the billionaire's train of thought, "Mister Steve Rogers and Mister Thor have arrived."

Blinking a couple times, he sat up a little straighter, "Alright, let them in," he said wearily.

"Uhm... why don't we move to the living room? Or something? " Bruce interjected before Fury asked if Stark had been listening to a word he'd been saying.

As they got up to leave, the physicist vaguely wondered where his friend's mind had been, but dismissed it until later. They entered the foyer to be greeted by Thor and Steve. The tension was palpable as Iron Man and Captain America locked eyes. THor, thankfully, started to speak, "My friends, shall we not convene somewhere else?"

Everyone, including Tony and Steve nodded and they converged towards the topmost sitting room.

"So, what are we all doing here? And what about Agents Romanoff and Barton?" Banner inquired once they all sat down.

"They have already been debriefed and are currently pursuing the mission," Fury replied.

Tony set down the drink that JARVIS had brought him before speaking up, "Can't the lovebirds handle it?"

iThe director glared while Thor and Bruce hid snickers and small smiles. Rogers, in his husual manner, cut straight to the chase, unamused by Tony's snide remarks, "Sir, what is the mission?"

Fury relaxed slightly and sept his gaze around the small room. "This is more for Stark and Doctor Banner, but you all have the right to know. Our scans recently picked up reports of a foreign artifact. It's power is not unlinke that of the Tesseract. We had recently retrieved it from a Sanctuary in the AMazon. However, someone stole it - or rather, it disappeard."

There was a short pause before Stark burst out laughing. "You lost it didnt'you? You actually... lost something."

The Director sent the other man a piercing, one-eyed glare before talking again, "It emits a gamma signature, close to that of the Tesseract. It will be weaker though, it's not pure energy, more of a stone or metal. Much like what Mjölnir is made of."

"Mjölnir is crafted from a dead and fallen star," Thor rumbled, "If what you speak of is what I believe it to be, the it is more powerful than that and you should leave it lost.

"Just like the Tesseract," Rogers grumbled, "Sir, if this... star... is going to cause as much trouble as the Tesseract, the whatever took it can have it as far as I'm concerned."

The DIrector sighed heavily. He hadn't expected it to be all this difficult,.

"And if  _whatever took it_ is hostile? What then? We could be worse off than before," Bruce spoke softly, glancing around the room and wringing his hands. Everyone shrank back a little at the remark. Stark was, narurally, the first to speak. "Alright, we'll find it. But once we do, we're either leaving it with whatever has it, if it's not hostile, or we're sending it away. Or keeping it to be studied. In any event, I'm - we're - not going to let S.H.I.E.L.D take it to be weaponized. Agreed?"

The rest of the Avengers nodded. Nick Fury was a smart man. He knew that refusing Stark's offer would be foolish. And thy'd been right about the Tesseract so they could be right about this too. "Fine. You'll be working from headquarters. Your ride is waiting abouve the tower."

With that, the tall black man stood and lead the way out. TOny took another drink, smirking slightly as he followed them out. "Well kids, have fun on your ride."

He clapped the other scientist on the shoulder, and lowered his voice, "I'll see you soon. DOn't let htem give you too much trouble, okay?"

The physicist smiled slightly at the contack, returning the clap on the back. "Of course not. At least Loki isn't on board this time."

Stark chuckled slightly, "Well that's true enough."

With that remark, he backed away and stepped towards the edge. He held out his arms, enjoying the soft breeze for a moment before looking down. Just one step, all he had to do was keep his mouth shut - no. He couldn't. The nightmares, that's all they were. They weren't real. Shaking his head slightly, he gave a soft command before stepping off the edge of the building. _  
_

"Stark!" Rogers called in alarm while Bruce ran to the edge, coming face to face with a fully suited Iron Man.

"What, miss me already Cap?" Tony's voice came through distorted through the faceplate. "Really, I'm not the suicidal type, Rogers."

The billionaire saw Bruce tilt his head to look up and meet his glowing eyes. Stark felt as if he'd read his thoughts earlier, caught his lie. The man knew him just that well. Oh well. Matters like that could be dealt with at later times. With a quick nod, Iron Man sped off as JARVS calibrated his navigation system to reach the aircraft carrier.


	2. I'm Not The Suicidal Type

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Don't, and never will own. Maybe in my wildest dreams, but those don't count.
> 
> Warnings: Foul language (dur), m/m SLASH. If it's not your thing, the back button is in the top left hand corner of your browser. Kindly use it. Violence. Mentions of suicide, self-harm, non-con.
> 
> A/N: Ah-right. Chapter one. Let's get this fuckin' ball rolling :)

The team walked onto the bridge of the aircraft carrier as it took off from the Atlantic ocean.

"Since you've already been debriefed, I will leave you to your work," Fury announced.

The assembled heroes nodded, Bruce noting that Tony was nowhere to be found. "I guess I'll...uh...head to the lab then," the scientist muttered.

Even though they'd all been living together for quite a few months - Tony had convinced Bruce to stay for a month and he hadn't exactly been keen on letting him leave - he was still nervous around them. He could see the wariness and pity in his team mate's eyes. All except for Tony's. The brilliantly aggravating man still poked him, annoyed him, and kept trying to get him to relax. Not only that, but Tony was the only one who would raise his voice or show his temper around him.

Breaking free from his thoughts, Bruce looked through the window of the lab. The first thing he noticed was the broken glass littering the floor. Second was a very frustrated and angry Tony pacing back and forth while running a hand through unkempt hair. The dark haired man's posture was rigid with emotion. Banner opened the door silently, and the billionaire didn't notice his best friend standing behind him until he spoke, "What's wrong?"

Stark jumped and turned so quickly he stumbled backwards. Bruce caught his arm before he crashed into the glass laden table behind him, "Woah... I didn't mean to startle you."

"No, don't worry," the mask was back in place, and Tony was smiling back at him, "They didn't give you a hard time did they?"

Bruce shook his head, "Not at all. They just kind of... left me alone. But clearly something got to you."

The smile faltered slightly, and when it returned it wasn't as strong, "Don't worry about it. We should get to work finding this thing."

"Why do you even bother lying to me? I know you well enough to tell when you're not okay, Tony."

"Could we just drop it, Banner?" the genius turned as his eyes flashed in subdued anger, "We're here to work, not be a support group."

Sensing he was treading dangerous waters, the other scientist just held up his hands in surrender and nodded, "Yeah of course. Sorry," Bruce gave a small smile, "What have we got so far?"

Tony suppressed a growl as he replied, his voice short and clipped, "Not nearly enough."

Bruce frowned slightly, and looked back to his screens, "So..." he began slowly, after a moment's silence, "we're assuming this.. this artifact, or whatever it is, has the same energy signature as the Tesseract, correct?"

The billionaire grunted in reply.

"If that's the case, we should be using the same method to find it, correct?"

Tony shrugged, "I'm running the old algorithm as we speak, but it hasn't turned anything up yet. I modified it to accommodate for a variance in the wavelength as well. At this point, I think we just have to wait and see." 

A sigh escaped the other scientist’s lips, “More waiting, huh?”

Chocolate brown eyes narrowed as they looked at him, a swamp of murky and unknown emotion swirling in their depths. Before Bruce could ponder it further however, the door to the lab opened with a slight _swoosh_ and Natasha Romanoff stepped through.

“How’s it going?”

Tony’s eyes flashed for a second before he regained his composure. Bruce gave him a sideways glance, and filed it away in the section of his memory he kept for things to ask Tony about. If the agent noticed anything, she didn’t give any hint of it. In the end, Stark shrugged and replied, “We don’t have anything yet. We’ll let you know when we have something.”

Natasha nodded, “Well, if there’s anything SHIELD can do –“

“Actually,” the red head’s gaze swung towards the physicist, “What else can you tell us about this star we’re looking for?”

“I wish I could... But we only know as much as you. Clint and I were away on an unrelated mission, so we were just debriefed.”

Bruce sighed, _Of course. But there has to be something else, there always is when SHIELD is involved._

Natasha, seeing that neither men before her were going to talk anymore, turned on her heel and walked back out.

“Well,” Bruce began again, “There’s not much more that we can do until we have more information. So, why don’t you tell me what’s on your mind, Tony.”

His friend glowered at him, “What’s the point? Talking doesn’t change what happened. What’s done is done.”

The doctor looked slightly perplexed, “Is it about Pepper?”

Tony scoffed, “That... that’s nothing. Nothing at all.”

Taken aback, Bruce’s eyes widened and he looked away. The swish of the automatic door signalled Tony’s exit, and he sighed, resting his face in his hands. It was going to be a long mission.


	3. Out of Character

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2... Tony's really OOC in this in my opinion... I couldn't get the feel for writing him this chapter :/ Apologies for that. Despite, I hope you enjoy it ^^ I know, it's taken me ages to get this up... Sorry, but it's really short. Fighting writer's block, but I'm getting my other stories updated too :)

The auburn haired woman gazed around the deep darkness of the stone cave in which she stood. A fair-haired young man came to stand behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, "Lydia, is it here?"

A nod of her head and a deep breath were her only response as she delved deeper into the bowels of the earthen creation. Her silver eyes took on a slightly blue shimmer as the caverns inky darkness wrapped around them like a velvet blanket, and her companion's did the same. After a few more meters, they hit a wall of smooth, almost glassy stone. Looking around, the woman crouched down to run her fingers along the floor of the cave. "It is here. Beneath the stone," Lydia murmured softly, sitting and crossing her legs, "Will you join me, brother? We should begin as soon as possible. Twelve suns must rise before the wards will hold."

The man nodded, sitting across from her and mirroring his sister's position, "We shall begin."

* * *

Steve and Thor sat around the table on the bridge of the helicarrier. The captain fiddled with his bomber jacket's sleeve in his boredom, pulling at the fuzz and loose thread until he had a small ball accumulated. The demigod on the other hand, sat in stoic silence, watching the activity with distant eyes. Soft chatter from the doorway made them turn their heads as Natasha and Clint wandered in.

"Hey. Any progress yet?" Steve asked, shifting slightly so the agents could take their usual seats.

Natasha shook her head, "Not yet. Stark said they'd let us know when they had something."

"Speaking of Tony, did any of you notice his odd behaviour on the rooftop of the Avenger's tower this morning?" Thor's voice rumbled throughout the room with the question.

Both Clint and Natasha looked to one another, "Odd behaviour? I mean, we just got back, so we didn't see him earlier but he seemed pretty normal when I went to check on they're progress," the spy replied.

Steve shrugged slightly, "He was just being dramatic, as usual."

Just then, footsteps sounded behind them, announcing Tony and Bruce's arrival to join the rest of the team. Tony had heard the Cap's remark, but chose to refrain from commenting on it, choosing instead to look out the bridge windows.

"What have you guys found?" Steve asked, sensing everyone's curiosity as strong as his own.

Bruce glanced at his friend, who remained stubbornly unengaged in the conversation, and then looked back at the blonde soldier. His eyes shifted from him to the ground as he spoke, "We aren't exactly sure yet. There was an energy spike in the area of the Grand Canyon a couple of minutes ago, and the energy signature was similar to the one we recorded when Thor went back to Asgard the first time, but not exactly. It was also mixed in with the energy signature of what we think is the object S.H.I.E.L.D wants us to retrieve."

The rest of the team stared at Banner a moment before nodding collectively. Tony spun around, smirking slightly, "So what are we waiting for? Let's go get the thing, so we can all go home, yeah?" Clapping his hands together, he leaned back against the railing he stood near and looked at the others expectantly. When no one moved, he rolled his eyes and continued, "Come on children, we haven't got all day."

Natasha and Clint shrugged slightly, turning to go before Steve spoke up again, "We can't just rush in without a plan Stark. Dr. Banner says there are two energy signatures, what if one is a hostile? Did you even bother to think of that, or do you even consider the fact that you're not immortal."

The billionaire's eyes hardened, but he remained silent a moment before replying icily, "We won't know if it's hostile if we don't do a little recon,  _Rogers_."

"You volunteering to do legwork Stark? I didn't even realize you knew what that was."

"Yeah, I'll go. Don't bother leaving the lights on, I'll find my way back," Tony shot back and stalked out of the room.

All eyes turned from Steve, who sat fuming at the table.

"I will go speak with Anthony, I believe he should not be going on a mission in this state," Thor spoke softly as he stood and left in Stark's wake.

Bruce stared after the demigod's retreating back and sighed softly. Something was up with Tony, distracting him enough that his mask was crumbling to dust. With a shrug, he followed in Thor's footsteps and wandered back to the lab half-hoping that the other scientist would be there. Initially upon reaching the lab, he believed himself to be in for a disappointment, however upon closer inspection of his surroundings, he noticed a figure curled up in the farthest corner of the workspace.

"Tony?" he called softly.

Upon getting no response, he walked over to the person he could now tell was his friend, "Tony, look at me," he gently put his hands on Tony's knees to get his attention.

Suddenly, the billionaire leapt to his feet, fists clenched at his side, "Who does he think he is? He thinks that he can be frozen for 70 years and then thaw out and make all the decisions? I mean… He doesn't even know what he's talking about, doesn't understand us at all!"

Bruce looked up and stood, taking off his glasses and cleaning them absent-mindedly on his shirt, "That's how he always is, Tony. You know that… What's really going on?"

Looking back at him, Tony dragged a shaking hand over his face, "It doesn't matter… It really doesn't. What's done is done. Can't change the past right?"

There it was again, that mask. Bruce could see the cracks, but it was there all the same. He opened his mouth to speak, but Thor burst through the lab doors before he could get a sound out.

"Anthony, you must not depart. It is unwise and unsafe."

Tony smiled tiredly and walked past him, "Don't worry big guy, I'm not going anywhere except to get a cup of coffee. Don't worry, I'll be right back."

As he left, he clapped Thor on the back and gave a smile to Banner, turning his back before it could falter.

 


End file.
